


The True Power of NEO

by ArgentDandelion



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Analysis, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Analysis, Explosions, Gen, Heroism, Mentioned Alphys (Undertale), Mentioned Mad Mew Mew, Mentioned Tsundereplane, Meta, Mettaton EX (Undertale), Mettaton NEO (Undertale), Nonfiction, Self-Destruction, Self-Sacrifice, Strategy & Tactics, Undertale Genocide Route, fanfic fodder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:14:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23082313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentDandelion/pseuds/ArgentDandelion
Summary: A post series which argues that Mettaton had decent reasons to think confronting the human on the Genocide Route was a good idea, although his logic was warped by a desire for a humanoid body.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Series Thesis: Mettaton had decent reasons to think confronting the human in his NEO form was a good idea, and to think he’d survive the encounter and be a hero. However, he didn’t fully think it through, and his desire for a humanoid form warped his reasoning.
> 
> The series is organized as follows:  
> Part 1: Mettaton’s reasoning.  
> Part 2: Where everything went wrong, and why. (General Details)  
> Part 3: Where everything went wrong, and why. (Specific Details)  
> Part 5: And yet…his death is meaningful.

#  **Introduction**

Mettaton has a unique role in the Genocide Route. He’s a Genocide Route-exclusive boss, who makes a dramatic speech about his “anti-human functions not being entirely removed” and transforms into Mettaton NEO. He has an exclusive battle theme, and a speech acknowledging the genocidal human’s crimes. Still, for all his build-up, he dies in one hit, and gives the genocidal human however much EXP is necessary to reach LV 19.

His battle is strange for other reasons, too. On the Genocide Route, Mettaton claims his Mettaton NEO form was made for human extermination and his boxy form is more “photogenic”, but, on other routes, he makes the opposite claim. The latter claim makes more sense, given his boxy form’s very high defenses and how his body is described as invulnerable. Despite supposedly being made for extermination, Mettaton NEO goes down in one strike, even if one barely hits him in a near-Genocide Route. Mettaton’s body also explodes when he dies, but it deals no damage.

Why? Why is his fight so strange? Why would he ever think fighting the Human was a good idea?

* * *

# Tactics

## Tactic 1: Mettaton is the Bomb (Literally)

_**Tactic 1 Summary** : Mettaton would block the CORE’s exit by self-destruction of his body. This would block the human’s progress or at least buy a lot of time to evacuate others, and contact Asgore to get him to absorb the human SOULs and fight the Human. It’s possible Mettaton would survive his body’s self-destruction, assuming he didn’t fuse with his body._

Mettaton (in his NEO/EX form) is one of only three enemies to explode when he dies. (Tsundereplane and Mad Mew Mew are the others) Mettaton’s explosion could theoretically be weaponized: in fact, it’s plausible it was upgraded (if hastily) for this.

First, Mettaton NEO’s explosion lasts for a while. Tsundereplane, Mad Mew Mew’s, Mettaton EX, and Mettaton NEO’s explosions last one, four, seven, and eight seconds, respectively.

Second, it’s big. Mettaton EX’s, NEO’s, and Mad Mew Mew’s explosions all turn the whole screen white and then black for several seconds, suggesting a huge, blinding explosion. In contrast, Tsundereplane’s explosion doesn’t cover the whole screen, and its death makes the screen flash white very briefly.

Third, in addition to lasting one second longer than in his EX form, Mettaton NEO’s explosion grows faster when triggered. For Mad Mew Mew and Mettaton EX, the explosion only starts after they are done speaking, but Mettaton NEO’s text is still on-screen when the explosion starts. (Note: When Mettaton EX is damaged, his arms fall off, and his arm sockets smoke. Tsundereplane also has mini-explosions as it dies and says its last words, before crashing to make a much bigger explosion.)

Furthermore, in the Neutral/Pacifist Route, Mettaton’s body is left behind after he explodes, and it’s trashed beyond repair. Yet, in the near-Genocide/Genocide Route, his body isn’t left behind, although it logically would. If his body’s explosion were upgraded to be stronger, that might explain the lack of a corpse: his body became shrapnel that stuck to the ceiling. [1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/611995129157419008/the-true-power-of-neo-part-1-series-thesis#fn:1)

Thus, he could plausibly block the CORE’s only exit through self-destructing. At the very least, this would massively delay the Human. It’s vital: it gives more time to evacuate New Home, if the human still has a chance to get there, or to contact Asgore, have him absorb six human SOULs, and wipe out the genocidal human.

Mad Mew Mew survives the explosion and dismemberment of her body, so Mettaton, too, surely would survive his body exploding. If he could set his body to self-destruct by timer, he could easily leave his body near the entrance, and then phase out of his body and go through walls to flee. If there was no timer, he might survive if it were a physical explosion, since ghosts are immune to physical attacks.

Blocking the exit by body explosion ahead of time is sensible, reasonably low-risk, and seems to fit Mettaton’s and Alphys’ motives.

For Alphys, one should note that in the Genocide Route some floors of Hotland are inaccessible through laser traps, and the elevator to New Home won’t work.[2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/611995129157419008/the-true-power-of-neo-part-1-series-thesis#fn:2) Given her hacking abilities and the fact she’s leading the evacuation, Alphys most likely did that. In fact, she had so thoroughly blocked off sections of Hotland that, had she evacuated Muffet from her den as planned and sealed the den’s exit, the Human couldn’t leave Hotland at all. Additionally, since the MTT resort elevator to New Home won’t work, the human has to take the long way around though an unpopulated area (the CORE).  
For Mettaton, indirect tactics are in-character for him. He does re-arrange the CORE in the Neutral/Pacifist Routes, perhaps to ensure the human will encounter the mercenaries he hired, and he offers a lot of money to Muffet for the Human’s SOUL. Therefore, it would make sense Alphys would tell Mettaton to seal the CORE exit, or that Mettaton would decide to do so on his own.

* * *

## Tactic 2: Offense Over Defense

_**Tactic 2 Summary:** Mettaton made a decent choice in choosing his Mettaton NEO mode, because it could (in theory) hit hard and fast but still take a few hits. (Slightly less well-supported than Tactic 1.)_

Although Mettaton EX is not invulnerable, he’s a fairly difficult boss. He can attack with a larger volume and variety of bullets, in versatile combat patterns with unique combat mechanisms (the fast-forward/rewind technique). He uses a unique SOUL mode, too, and if Mettaton only fights the human once in the Genocide Route, the human would have no practice with this mode. (like for Undyne). Mettaton’s a pretty formidable foe, even when he’s focusing on glamour and dancing rather than killing the human as quickly as possible.

Mettaton has very good stats, too. His boxy mode has 9999 HP, 30 AT, and 255 DEF, while his Mettaton EX and NEO forms have 1,600 HP, 47 AT, 47 DF, and 30,000 HP, 90 AT, and 9 DF, respectively. While Mettaton NEO’s defense is much lower than the other forms, he has the most HP and AT. In theory, Mettaton NEO is a mode that emphases offense over defense, but can still take several hits. If Mettaton strikes hard enough, he wouldn’t need to fight for very long. Furthermore, assuming Mettaton NEO has a higher AT stat than Mettaton EX and was more focused on killing a human, he might actually succeed. (That’s not even counting the possibility he could dodge or fly)

* * *

## Tactic 3: “You wouldn’t kill a human, would you?”

_**Tactic 3 Summary:** Believing the human would be reluctant to kill someone who looks humanlike, Mettaton takes on a humanlike form. If the human cannot kill Mettton, they would be drained of the will to exterminate, or quit after “killing” him. Of course, Mettaton would actually survive since he’s a ghost. (Least plausible interpretation, since Mettaton thinks the human is a “threat to humanity”)_

Mettaton thinks the human might be reluctant to kill someone who looks so humanlike. The human would be unable to kill Mettaton, and thus be drained of the will to exterminate, or quit after “killing” him. (see real players quitting after killing Papyrus; now apply it in-universe to someone who looks shockingly humanoid)

Humans have a deep-seated aversion to killing their own kind, to the point killing humans comes at a high psychological cost. Indeed, according to the book The Most Dangerous Animal: “[…]the most traumatic form of killing involves looking a person in the eyes while taking his life. It is an experience that often haunts men for the rest of their lives.” Soldiers sometimes get PTSD even when killing in self-defense or in defense of others, and their turmoil is surely greater when killing those who don’t pose a threat. (e.g., children)  
Psychologically, the easiest way to dodge this and exterminate vast swaths of people is to conceive of them as non-humans: as wild beasts, vermin, pests, or simply “monsters”. Although Papyrus, Undyne, and Sans look pretty humanoid, Mettaton NEO/EX are definitely the most human-like, due to the humanlike face and body.

Due to his admiration of human culture, Mettaton might have known about this tendency, and made it part of his plan. Taking on a suddenly very humanlike form would confront the human with an aversion to killing other humans. Furthermore, if he couldn’t (or didn’t) attack, the Human wouldn’t be able to justify attacking him in self-defense. Progress on the Genocide Route is only possible through clearing out areas and exterminating bosses, and the Human can make no exceptions. If the human cannot kill Mettaton NEO, they’ll lose the will to fight (or at least for exterminating).

His plan hinges on a human not wanting to kill humans/someone who looks so humanoid. In any case, if Mettaton hasn’t fused with his body yet, a physical strike cannot hurt him, and he will survive if his body is destroyed.

* * *

## Related Works

[ **What is LOVE?**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22683370?view_full_work=true) (Covers Mettaton NEO)

* * *

  1. As for why it’s not visible…video game limitations. For example, Toriel notices when Frisk is hurt, despite Frisk’s sprite showing no damage, and when Toriel fights Frisk, the room has no scorch marks, despite the volley of fireballs.  
[↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/611995129157419008/the-true-power-of-neo-part-1-series-thesis#fnref:1)

  2. In other routes, a manticore says: "The elevator goes straight to the capital. [New Home] But it stopped working.” (If inspected, it says “in use”, no matter the route) [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/611995129157419008/the-true-power-of-neo-part-1-series-thesis#fnref:2)





	2. Chapter 2

# The True Power of NEO: Part 2

_To see previous entries in the series, check out “The True Power of NEO” tag on the ArgentDandelion blog._   
_Made with help from CinnamonAzzy and Ihasafandom._

## Introduction and Overall Theme

What Mettaton thought would happen. Image from NCHProductions’ Chara vs. Mettaton NEO YouTube video.

Mettaton may have had decent reasons to think confronting the human in his NEO form was a good idea. He really did think he’d live through the encounter and be a hero. However, he made several mistakes. Some were excusable, due to monsters’ lack of information, but others show he wasn’t thinking things through. His desire for a humanoid form likely warped his logic: he relied on too many assumptions he couldn’t prove.

## General Motivation and Tactic Explanations

Alphys, Undyne, and Gerson are more pragmatic, even cowardly or “dirty”, in their approaches. Alphys stays away from the Human, hindering them with laser traps (probably remotely). Most of the time, Undyne attacks from a distance, using the environment to her advantage to hinder the human’s movements, kill them, or give her cover. Gerson doesn’t try to attack the human, shrewdly selling them items, and possibly knowing the Human can’t kill shopkeepers. None of them, not even Undyne, are looking for fame, nor do they want to absorb the Human’s SOUL themselves.

Initially, Mettaton encounters the human in Hotland, but doesn’t fight them, saying: “The world needs stars more than it needs corpses!” However, he changes his mind, later saying:

> “You see, I can’t be a star without an audience. And besides…there are some people…I want to protect.”

He doesn’t stick with pragmatism. Why?

For the sake of concision, the following section covers Mettaton’s aspects of Mettaton’s modus operandi shared by all three tactics.

### Reason 1: Invulnerability

Consider Mettaton’s tactics. Alphys, Gerson, and Undyne understand they are all vulnerable to the human’s attacks, but Mettaton doesn’t have the same problem. His original body is supposedly “invulnerable”, according to flavor text. Furthermore, judging by the Mad Dummy dialogue and Mad Mew Mew battle, he probably can’t be killed by physical attacks. Note that when fighting Mad Mew Mew, damage is only listed in the final strike: it’s unclear whether a body-destroying strike can be somewhat damaging to a ghost possessing the body, or whether that was damage to the physical object. Even then, Mad Mew Mew survives the dismemberment of her body, seemingly unharmed, as she didn’t fuse with her body yet. If Mettaton can assume he won’t fuse with his body and become corporeal, then confronting the human is pretty sensible.

### Reason 2: Drama/Bloodshed/Heroism

As shown in the Neutral/Pacifist Routes, he wants to exploit the human to gain fame (e.g., his TV segments), but also kill the human, take their SOUL, and be a star on the Surface. Mettaton has a flair for the dramatic, as well as a taste for violence and bloodshed. After all, all of his shows in other routes are violent, even when the shows’ genres typically aren’t violent.

Although exploding the CORE’s exit ahead of time would block the human, it doesn’t have the same drama and bloodshed as fighting them. Though there are much more pragmatic tactics to block or kill the human, but he doesn’t take them: probably because it’s not glamorous or heroic enough. Neither attacking from a distance Undyne-style or herding the human into traps seems very heroic or “anime”. Mettaton may have wanted to block the exit while the human was in the room, dealing damage at the same time the entrance was sealed.

To avoid confrontation with the human entirely is the safest route, just in case he’s not as invulnerable as he thinks or he somehow fuses with his body. However, doing so simply isn’t dramatic, nor violent.

### Reason 3: Cross the Barrier (and Be a Star)

Yet, neither blocking the entrance ahead of the human nor blocking the entrance as the human enters the room fits his motives as much as killing the human. Mettaton loves humanity. Part of the reason he wants to kill the Human on the Neutral and Pacifist Routes is so he, not Asgore, can take their SOUL, allowing him to cross the barrier and perform for millions of humans.

It is unclear whether he wants to protect humanity from getting wiped out purely so he can perform for them: if monsters waged war and created a huge prison camp of humans that Mettaton could perform for, would he be happy then?

If he blocks the exit, the people of New Home will be safe (for a while, at least), but someone else (i.e., Asgore with six SOULs) might come in and kill the human instead of him.

### Reason 4: Protect Humanity (from the Genocidal Human and Asgore)

Overlapping with the above reason, it is necessary to keep the seventh human SOUL away from Asgore, and to stop the destruction of the barrier.

The biggest difference between a high-murder Neutral Route and the Genocide Route is how, in the Genocide Route, monsters believe the human will try to wipe out humanity.

> **Undyne** (pre-Undying): “This isn’t just about monsters anymore, is it? If you get past me, you’ll… You’ll destroy them all, won’t you? Monsters… Humans… Everyone…”
> 
> **Mettaton** (Genocide Route):“After our first meeting, I realized…something ghastly. You’re not just a threat to monsters…but humanity, as well.”

Under ordinary circumstances, even a hateful child armed with improvised weapons wouldn’t really be a threat to humanity. A monster with a human SOUL is a “beast with unfathomable power”. If the reverse applies, the genocidal human might be a threat to humans only after absorbing Asgore’s SOUL. Although zeal in killing monsters doesn’t guarantee zeal in killing humans, Undyne and Mettaton both believe the human is still a threat to humanity. What’s worse, in the Genocide Route there’s a lot more urgency for Asgore to absorb the six SOULS he’s collected. Undyne believes Alphys has been watching her battle, and has surely instructed Asgore to absorb the six human SOULs and so gain the power to stop the Human. Even Flowey hurries to Asgore, likely begging him to absorb the Human SOULs and fight the genocidal human.

### Reason 5 and 6: A Humanoid Body, and Fusing With It

Mettaton really, really wants to change into his new body, to the point he often asks Alphys for progress on it. It’s not simply because it’s cool, or has improved dancing ability. It seems that he has some sort of body dysmorphia, for, according to his diary:

> “She [Alphys] surprised me with something today. Sketches of a body that she wants to create for me…a form beyond my wildest fantasies. In a form like that, I could finally feel like…“myself”. After all, there’s no way I can be a star the way I am now.“

In the Neutral and Genocide Routes, Mettaton shows his boxy mode was his original mode, so he’s surely lying about swapping to a more “photogenic” boxy body in the Genocide Route. Judging by Mad Dummy/Glad Dummy/Mad Mew Mew, ghosts fuse with their bodies when they feel pure, unbridled emotions while possessing a body. Most likely, Mettaton expected that emotion to be happiness.

## Summary

Unlike all other characters, Mettaton has many desires, is driven to fulfill those desires, and all his desires are fulfilled, almost all at once, if he can kill the human in his humanoid form. If he doesn’t take the Human’s SOUL himself, it’s likely Asgore will, and he’s expected to break the barrier and try to destroy all humanity as soon as he does. If Mettaton can kill the genocidal human in a humanoid form, he gets everything he wants: showing off his humanoid body, glamour (and glory), violence, and a human SOUL. Indeed, this anticipation of getting all he desires might have been the "unbridled emotion” necessary to fuse him with his body.

## Weak Points & Problems

All his likely tactics rely on one thing: that Mettaton won’t die if his body is damaged (whether from self-destruction or combat) because he hasn’t _fused with his body_.

In fairness to Mettaton, fusing with his body when encountering the human wasn’t guaranteed, and it might have seemed unlikely. Most likely, he believed fighting the human would only help him eventually fuse with his body. After all, fusing instantly is just too unlikely. Yet, it seems this is difficult to achieve, even under good conditions, so exactly when they fuse is impossible to predict. In the Genocide Route, Mad Dummy fuses instantly, surprising them. Mad Mew Mew, however, doesn’t become corporeal during or immediately after the battle, saying:

> “Huh…? Such… such kindness…!It’s… making me FEEL something! It may be a while before I can truly fuse with this body. But, I think this is a start…!”

Furthermore, it’s also possible that, if "unbridled emotion” causes fusing with one’s body, Mettaton didn’t consider _fear_ would work, and seriously underestimated how afraid he would be while fighting the human.

In conclusion, Mettaton’s sheer level of confidence, combined with presumably good offensive and defensive options, meant he didn’t create a backup plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on my [Tumblr](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/). Feel free to comment on this article there or here.


	3. Chapter 3

_Made with help from CinnamonAzzy and Ihasafandom._

## Tactic 1 (Explode the Exit) and Tactic 2 (Offense Over Defense) Responses

Using his NEO form as a block of explosives to seal the exit was a good idea, and exploding the exit while the human was in the room was, while riskier, still pretty good. Even using his box mode as a living wall to delay the Human’s progress was better than switching to his Mettaton NEO form to fight the human.

So why didn’t he do any of these tactics? Why rely on so many variables he didn’t know? Most likely, the “Offense Over Defense” tactic of striking fast and hard appealed to him more.

If his NEO form is anything like his EX form, Mettaton should logically be able to attack with it. As mentioned, Mettaton EX has strong attacks, numerous bullets, and a variable bullet pattern with a unique SOUL Mode mechanic. Assuming Mettaton NEO is even more effective at attacking and has some way to dodge or endure strong attacks (e.g., by flipping into his supposedly invulnerable original mode), attacking the human is a pretty reasonable option.

Indeed, he would, theoretically, have more time to prepare to fight the human in the Genocide Route than in other Routes, since he doesn’t engage the human in TV segments. However, during that time, Alphys would be busy evacuating others, and so couldn’t work on his body. (This assumes she both works quickly and the body was nearly done anyway)

Yet, this tactic depends on him being able to attack. He doesn’t attack, bringing up the question of whether he even can.

**Can He Emit Bullets?**

If the combat systems for his EX/NEO form were the last feature to be added, without Alphys’ fine-tuning, he might enter combat with no attack capability. Mettaton, out of faith for Alphys’ work or sheer haste, may have assumed Alphys installed some combat capabilities in his NEO form before he changed into it. It is also possible Mettaton finished the body himself while Alphys was doing something else, which might explain the missing eye and silly leg-shaped pauldrons (possibly made from spare parts). In this case, his lack of combat capabilities comes from his lack of skill in building robots.

It’s possible that, as soon as ghosts merge with their bodies, they can’t attack, or that there’s some learning curve or dormancy period before re-accessing offensive magic. Mad Dummy/Glad Dummy might support this: though many monsters keep fighting once spareable, as soon as Mad Dummy fuses with their body, they stop attacking. Mad Mew Mew, on the other hand, hadn’t actually fused with her body at the time of the battle. Assuming this hypothesis is true, Mettaton unexpectedly fused with his body and didn’t have enough time to re-learn how to make magical attacks.

The “dormancy period” supposition is a little weakened, though, by the observation Mettaton fuses with his body in his Mettaton EX battle and has no problem with bullet patterns. (Although many of his attack patterns are unusual objects or not projectiles.)

**Death Explosions**

One might argue that Mettaton is hoping the human will trigger his death explosion, and he would survive it if he hadn’t fused, or the explosion would kill both himself and the human if he had fused. However, this idea of a lethal explosion is weakened by one of his lines in the near-Genocide Route:“Yes, Asgore will fall easily to you”. This suggests he thinks the human will survive the explosion. Perhaps he, knowing the sheer power of even a whiffed strike, extrapolates that the human’s defenses are also very high.

Oddly, Mettaton’s explosion does not do any damage, in either the Genocide Route or Neutral Route. Mettaton wouldn’t have reason to deliberately explode his body in the Neutral Route. It’s possible his body exploding is a side effect of him reaching 0 HP, and Alphys hastily upgraded that to be useful in combat. However, given Alphys was evacuating Hotland, even with her super-fast working (assuming she doesn’t simply swap Frisk’s phone with a new one and re-adds two phone numbers), she probably didn’t have time to run simulations on whether Mettaton’s explosion would block the exit.

## “You Wouldn’t Kill a Human, Would You?” Response

Turning into Mettaton NEO may have been a tactic to break the human’s will for killing, thus protecting humanity. (and perhaps monsters) If a human absorbing a monster’s SOUL gains great power, the genocidal Human would have a lot more power to kill humanity with Asgore’s SOUL. If Mettaton believes he can’t kill the Human, for whatever reason, then removing their will to harm humanity and kill anyone but Asgore is the next best thing.

Undyne believes the genocidal Human intends to destroy all of humanity, and Mettaton himself believes the Human is a threat to humanity. The genocidal Human would surely be a threat to humanity when they’re willing to kill a human. By that logic, changing into a more humanoid form wouldn’t give Mettaton “psychological armor” at all.

Perhaps he planned on doing the “you were holding back” speech after the human beat him up or “killed” him, thereby breaking the Human’s will to exterminate by showing they weren’t “entirely evil”. From an out-of-universe perspective, this makes sense. Papyrus often stops players from progressing on the Genocide Route, not because he’s no threat, or doesn’t attack, but because of the sheer guilt of killing him. Even in his dying words, he shows faith that the human can do better.

## So Why Does He Act Like a Threat?

One might ask, “Surely Mettaton realized he can’t fight back? Why, then, does he act so tough?”

Mettaton seems to have good acting skills (in certain contexts, at least) and there’s evidence he’s good at improvising, acting like nothing is wrong, and hiding his discomfort.

Mettaton seems good at improvisation: when the Human doesn’t behave as expected in the Hotland TV segments, he seems to improvise lines. Mettaton apparently thinks ahead for the possibility the Human completes the tile puzzle, and says: “I only deactivated the flames knowing that Alphys would have anyway.” If the Human fails the cooking show puzzle, Mettaton acts as if that time is when his show has a commercial break, and he’s not going to destroy the human without a live television audience.  
Outside the Genocide Route, he knows Alphys plans to come to Frisk’s “rescue” and “deactivate” him, but he blocks the door. He also re-arranges the CORE, hires mercenaries to kill Frisk in the CORE, and offers a lot of money for Frisk’s SOUL to entice Muffet to kill them. He figures Alphys will tell Frisk to flip Mettaton’s switch, but that’s what he wants: to premiere his new body.  
However, when the human doesn’t even step on a green tile, he’s clearly stalling for time saying “well well well”.

On hiding his pain, up until his arms fall off, his pained expressions are _very_ subtle: it’s impossible to notice he’s in pain at all without lining up his expressions. ( _above_ ) When his arms fall off, he looks shocked or pained, but then regains composure. If hit after that point, his pained grimaces are pretty subtle. He still attacks without arms, though he stops dancing. When he loses his legs, he’s shocked for the whole turn, but then closes his eyes (as if hiding a grimace) and still smiles. He also still attacks…faster, even.

However, his skill in hiding his pain isn’t perfect. Mettaton’s text shakes when the final blow is dealt in the Neutral fight, suggesting a quaver in his voice. (possibly of pain) He’s clearly saddened when the final blow is dealt, although that’s probably emotional, rather than physical, pain. Near the end of his death speech, he says: “I might seem like I’m dying now, but…Dr. Alphys can always repair me.” He says the second part with a sad grin, making it not very persuasive, but the very fact he’s considering that and trying to act like everything is fine when he’s dying says something about his impression-management.

If one assumes he’s good at hiding his discomfort and acting as if nothing is wrong, he could plausibly act like everything’s fine even when his plan has gone off the rails. After all, it’s likely he fused with his body prior to or during the fight with the Human, and he surely felt this. It’s possible he’s hoping he can intimidate the human into fleeing or use some variant of Tactic 3 (“You Wouldn’t Kill a Human, Would You?”) to guilt-trip the human into losing the will to kill human beings and any monsters but Asgore. Even if that fails, he might still be going for Tactic 1 (exploding the exit and, ideally, taking the human with him) but he knows he’ll die in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on my [Tumblr](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/). Feel free to comment on this article there or here.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To see previous entries in the series, check out “The True Power of NEO” tag on the ArgentDandelion blog. Made with help from CinnamonAzzy of Tumblr, [Ihasafandom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ihasafandom/pseuds/Ihasa), and [Batter-Sempai.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/batter_sempai/pseuds/batter_sempai)
> 
> Originally posted on my [Tumblr](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/). Feel free to comment on this article there or here.

The bosses of Undertale’s Genocide Route represent turning points, or how far the Human would go in exterminating monsterkind and gaining power. Mettaton NEO’s battle is no exception: it’s a a turning point for the scope of the human’s violence and hate. Although the fact Mettaton dies in one strike makes his fight anticlimactic, game-play wise, the fight and its results are still important.

## Neutral Route

If the human was holding back, Mettaton says:

> **Mettaton NEO:** “You may have defeated me…but…I know. I can tell from that strike, darling. You were holding back. Yes, Asgore will fall easily to you…but you won’t harm humanity, will you? You aren’t absolutely evil. If you were trying to be, then you messed up. And so late into the show, too. Ha…ha. At least now, I can rest easy. Knowing Alphys and the humans will live on…!“

If the human was “holding back” when striking Mettaton, the Human is shunted onto the Neutral Route: the monsters live. Humanity, it’s implied, also survives. As evil as the Human was, their LOVE wasn’t enough to reach “the absolute” of evil and power: they still were “holding back”.

But why would Mettaton say the Human, a mass murderer, “wasn’t absolutely evil” and “if [you] were trying to be, then you messed up”? Would the human’s willingness to kill their own kind really mean much, when they’ve killed so many monsters? After all, in real-life someone who kills only animals might be called “evil”.

Most likely, this was one final mind game from Mettaton, a psychological trick to make them lose the will to kill. If the Human equates being “evil” with the strength to keep killing, then being told they’re “not absolutely evil” may discourage them. This may seem strange, since people who commit atrocities in real life often consider their actions neutral or even good. However, there’s one wrinkle to this: if NarraChara theory is true, Chara supplies descriptions, including on the Genocide Route. On that route, and only that route, potted plants in the Hotland resort are described with "the potted plant(s) [are] judging you for your sins.” Interestingly, not once do Frisk/Chara/the Human contradict claims of their evil, which may suggest they believe they’re evil, or are not sure they are justified.

Mettaton’s speech is true: Alphys, most monsters, and surely humanity survive after that point. Unless the human’s heart was sufficiently hardened by LOVE when meeting Mettaton NEO (not something Mettaton can predict or control) the human’s kills afterwards are limited: only Asgore and/or Flowey can be killed after that point. In a way, Neutral Route Mettaton is (posthumously) a hero.

## Genocide Route

But, if Mettaton is killed at full strength, Mettaton’s dying speech is only one sentence long. Killing Mettaton also elevates the Human’s LOVE by whatever amount is necessary to reach LV 19: potentially a massive amount. Assuming that LOVE is detachment and estrangement from others, or a figurative hardening of the heart, the sheer psychological cost of killing someone so humanlike as Mettaton NEO could harden the heart much more rapidly than killing other monsters.

Mettaton’s death on the Genocide Route could be meaningful for another reason. If NarraChara theory is true, Mettaton’s death might strengthen Chara’s influence over Frisk.  
According to NarraChara theory, Chara provides descriptions for Frisk, and the evidence for Chara’s existence is especially strong in the Genocide Route. In that route, Chara’s influence seems to increase with greater LOVE: greater LOVE causes first-person description styles in a few areas.  
Chara “hated humanity” and even wanted to use the “full power” of a monster-human SOUL fusion to kill some humans while sharing control of Asriel’s body. As _Source-powered-archineer_ pointed out[1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fn:1), Chara may therefore hate Mettaton for loving humans and looking so much like them. While hating humanity and wanting to kill them aren’t the same thing, high LOVE on the Neutral or Genocide Routes may have combined with Chara’s hate to cause a one-hit kill.

Notably, while Chara may very well hate humanity on the Neutral Routes, the same effects don’t happen for Mettaton EX. Apparently, hating humanity isn’t quite enough to override inhibitions against killing them, short of sufficient LOVE. [2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fn:2) Since Genocide Route progression depends on minimum kills, not EXP nor LOVE, the Neutral and Genocide Routes can have equivalent EXP/LOVE at some points. Thus, neither LOVE nor EXP is enough to attack at full force: only utter dedication to extermination proves the human is “absolutely evil” and tips the scales into attacking Mettaton NEO at full force.

## Conclusion

In the Neutral Route, Mettaton was a doomed character, probably too driven to fulfil his dreams to attack pragmatically. However, in his death, he becomes a hero (posthumously). The remaining monsters (exempting Asgore), humanity, and the world itself probably survive the murder spree of the genocidal human.

In the Genocide Route, however, Mettaton still dies, but it accomplishes nothing. The genocidal human’s choice is solidified: with no way back to a Neutral Route, the only options are proceeding or resetting. It becomes clear the very world or timeline is under threat, and the only real obstacle left is a lazy, cheating jokester.

* * *

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  1. [https://nochocolate.tumblr.com](https://nochocolate.tumblr.com/)/post/168021735994/the-bosses-in-the-genocide-route [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fnref:1)

  2. Counterpoint: Chara was willing to kill humans while part of Asriel, and was quite capable of doing so. Some interpretations of the scene give Chara a reason to detest those _particular_ humans, or point out the humans were attacking or were about to attack Asriel _before_ Chara tried to attack them. That being said, hatred not being enough to kill is generally true, and the fact Frisk is along for the ride does complicate matters. [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/preview#fnref:2)





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